Open G Tuner Online

What Open G tuning is

Open G tuning is D G D G B D (low to high). Because the open strings already spell a G major chord — the root G, the third B, and the fifth D — you can fret a complete major chord anywhere on the neck by barring a single fret. That single fact is why slide guitarists live in this tuning: lay a bottleneck across the strings at any fret and you have a clean major chord to slide between.

Reading low to high: the sixth string drops to D, the fifth drops to G, the fourth stays at D, the third stays at G, the second stays at B, and the first drops to D. The result is a big, ringing, open G major sound the moment you strum, with no fretting required.

Why and when to use it

Open G is the home of greasy bottleneck blues and the chugging, open-chord rhythm sound the Rolling Stones built much of their catalogue on. For slide, the appeal is obvious — straight major chords under the slide at every fret. For rhythm playing, the open strings let you add the kind of droning, ringing sus and add9 voicings that are awkward in standard tuning but fall under the fingers here.

Reach for Open G when you want a rootsy, open, ringing rhythm sound, when you are learning slide and want the simplest possible chord logic, or when you want to play country-blues and Delta-blues fingerpicking in the tradition of Robert Johnson and Son House. It is also a forgiving tuning for beginners exploring slide, because there are no wrong "frets" — only sliding to the right one.

String-by-string change from standard

To reach Open G from standard EADGBE, lower three strings, each by a whole step: drop the low E down a whole step to D, drop the A (fifth) string down a whole step to G, and drop the high E down a whole step to D. The middle D, G and B strings stay exactly where they are. When you finish, strumming the open strings should give you that full, ringing G major chord — if it sounds sour, one of the three lowered strings has not reached pitch.

Keith Richards famously removes the low D string entirely and plays a five-string Open G, but for tuning purposes set all six strings to D G D G B D and you are ready to slide.

Songs and artists that use Open G

• Honky Tonk Women — The Rolling Stones
• Brown Sugar — The Rolling Stones
• Start Me Up — The Rolling Stones
• Walking Blues — Robert Johnson
• Death Letter — Son House

The split between the Stones' open-chord rock rhythm and the Delta-blues slide work of Johnson and House shows how versatile the tuning is across rock and acoustic blues alike.

Common Genres

• Slide and bottleneck blues
• Roots and Americana rock
• Country blues and Delta blues
• Rolling Stones–style open-chord rhythm

Practical tips and common mistakes

• Strum to check. The fastest way to verify Open G is to strum all six open strings — a clean G major confirms every string is right; a beat or a sour note flags the culprit.
• Approach from below. All three changed strings move down, so tighten up to each target rather than slackening past it, which keeps tuning stable.
• Mind string tension. Lowering three strings reduces neck tension; on some guitars the action drops slightly, so re-check intonation if you switch back and forth often.
• Slide placement. Rest the slide directly over the fret wire, not behind it, and damp the strings behind the slide with your fretting fingers to kill unwanted ring.

How to use this tuner

• Click Start Tuner and allow microphone access when prompted.
• Pluck each string one at a time — the matching peg below lights up automatically.
• Tap any peg to hear its exact target pitch as a slide reference.
• Lower the low E, A and high E strings until each dial sits inside the green band, then strum open to confirm the G chord.